Louis Auguste de Grandelumiere
Louis Auguste de Grandelumiere (1709 - Present) is the second and eldest living son of the late Emperor Louis XI and his Empress Consort Freya Isabelle IV. He has been known as an intelligent, loyal courtier to Empress Sophie from 1739 and maintaining order in his house and the court during his tenure as Prince de Bourgogne. Early life at the Court of Louis XI - Prince de Bourgogne Louis Auguste was born at the Chateau de Chaudfontaine-en-Liege on 6th May, 1709. As he was only the fourth child of the Emperor his birth was not met with much interest or celebration at court, although his birth did provoke small scale celebration within the Imperial Family and extended Lowell-Bourbon family. Louis XI was relatively pleased with the birth as he had wanted a son after his disappointment with the previous birth of Mariette Florie. He was given the name of Louis Auguste; Louis being one of the most common names in the Imperial Family, dating back to the 13th-14th Centuries and Auguste meaning venerated or to be treated with a deal of respect. He was baptized in the Palace Chapel by the Cardinal Vosges. The Cardinal would stand in as his godfather while his paternal aunt, Madame Sophie, stood in as his godmother. After his birth, he was immediately placed into the care of the Imperial Governess, the Comtesse du Bar. He enjoyed time at the court and quickly settled in, making acquaintances and friends with children of nobles. He would be somewhat used by his father to promote the Imperial Children at court and kept purposefully there at most times. Louis would not enjoy spending time with most of his siblings with an exception of the dauphin and his younger brother, Comte Sundgau, both of which he would share a pleasant friendship with and would be most upset upon the dauphins death in 1715. He also shared an indifferent relationship with his parents and would confide only in his closest friend at the time, the young Comte de Turenne. At age 7 in 1717, Louis XI would name Cardinal Vosges as his court tutor. From an early age, he had taken an interest in politics and had aspired to serve in the government. His attitude as he was growing from childhood into young adulthood was generally mixed. He was usually calm, collected and kind but he could easily be aggravated. Whenever he would become aggravated or upset he would once again find reassurance from the Comte de Turenne. His constant reliance on the Comte would lead some to believe that they had begun a romantic relationship, although neither said anything of the matter. The Duc de Guise would once describe him as, "...a usually calm and kind person, but he can be harsh and angry when annoyed..." When he eventually came of age in 1723, Louis XI began searching for possible matches for his son across the nobility. Louis XI would eventually settle on Charlotte Elaine, a member of the House of Nassau. This was arranged and he was married in July of 1723. Louis was sure to treat his wife with kindness and respect. Love, however, was out of the question for the marriage. The marriage was almost immediately consummated and their first child was born in August of 1724. The death of the Comte de Turenne in 1727 had an adverse effect on Louis, he would become melancholic for a time. He took up a new confidant in 1729 being the Comte du Perche. Louis' amount of time spent with men created rumours on his sexual preference, but he has never said anything on the matter. He eventually grew tired of his wife at some time around 1730 and would begin to take lovers, in a similar way to his father he apparently took lovers of both genders. In his adulthood, Louis' relationship with his parents and siblings was somewhat difficult. He held an indifferent relationship with the Emperor and Empress whilst he was either indifferent with or detested most his siblings. He was close only to one of his siblings; his brother, Jacques. Louis himself wrote in a journal entry; "I feel somewhat crestfallen for the failure in the relationship between myself and family. I feel as though my siblings do not understand my viewpoint or personality whereas my parents simply do not take an interest to get to know or understand me. I simply cannot form a relationship with many of them." Louis could not have imagined what was coming next to decimate his family. A smallpox outbreak occurred in 1738 which would ravage the Imperial Family. Louis himself never became infected and was spared along with Amelie, Mariette, Louis Joseph, Jacques and Charles. When the outbreak subsided in 1739, the court moved back to Dijon which is blamed for Louis XI contracting tuberculosis in late 1739 which would eventually kill him. By December, Louis XI's condition was without hope. He died on December 26th, 1739 with family surrounding him. Louis' aunt, the Princesse de Bretagne, was declared Empress of all Grandelumiere. Life at the Court of Sophie - Prince de Bourgogne After the death of the Sun-Emperor in 1739, Louis Auguste took the seat of House Lowell-Bourbon with its new status as a princely house. In this position, he would reform titles of his family with the territories taken and given to the house. The house remains influential and important within the court. Louis was naturally upset with the death of the Sun-Emperor and mourned heavily. It was at this time that he and his siblings connected and supported each other. Louis did return to court almost instantly, but only after visiting the Chateau du Lillemont to find that it had become decrepit, the chateau itself was crumbling from the inside. Louis wrote of this visit in his journal; "I could not believe the sorry state of the Chateau Lillemont when I had went to visit... it truly saddens me to see the chateau in such a terrible way. I see clearly that the chateau has not much time left to stand." Louis, eventually, ordered the demolition of the Chateau Lillemont which remained in the hands of the house and had it replaced with a new chateau, which was named Chateauneuf Lillemont. He ensured that everyone in his family had suitable accommodation for their rank. Due to the small size of the building, he had also commissioned a secondary building, where he provided his mother the Dowager Empress and his siblings with accommodation. At court, he remained prominent, becoming a figure of Grandelumierian high society and being chosen by the Empress to serve as Chancellor of Court on her Petit Conseil in 1741. In his family, Louis would dote on his children and treat them all with kindness, although it was clear that he had chosen a favourite child being his eldest son, Louis Emmanuel. His relationship with his wife in this time had become an indifferent one, although he did mostly treat her with kindness, they did not agree or connect on many topics or subjects. By 1744, they had mostly grown apart, only appearing together in public and at events. Louis, however, always persistent on keeping up appearances, would ensure that he continued to treat her with respect and kindness. Issue Louis was married to Charlotte Elaine de Nassau in 1723 with whom he would end up having 5 legitimate children, plus a stillborn child in 1732. *Louis Emmanuel, Duc de Bourbon (27th August 1724 - Present) *Rosalyn Bliss, Madame de Rethel (14th May 1725 - Present) *Leon Clement, Monsieur de Artois (28th January 1727 - Present) *Henri Antoine, Monsieur de Belfort (17th December 1728 - Present) *Marie Violette, Madame de Luxembourg (10th June 1729 - Present) Titles, Styles and Honours '-6th May 1709 - 26th December 1739:' His Imperial Highness, Prince of Bourgogne '-26th December 1739 - Present:' His Most Serene Highness, Prince of Bourgogne. Louis' official style is "Son Altesse, Prince de Bourgogne", or "His Highness, Prince of Burgundy" Louis is a recipient of the Order of St. Beningus from birth. Category:Grandelumierian Nobility Category:House Lowell-Bourbon Category:1700s births